[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 77 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 77

Encouraging the development of best business practices to fully utilize 
                  the potential of the United States.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 31, 2017

    Mr. Thomas J. Rooney of Florida (for himself and Mr. Hastings) 
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 
                     on Education and the Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Encouraging the development of best business practices to fully utilize 
                  the potential of the United States.

Whereas the Rooney Rule, formulated by Daniel Rooney, chairman of the Pittsburgh 
        Steelers football team in the National Football League (referred to in 
        this preamble as the ``NFL''), requires each NFL team with a job opening 
        for a coach or general manager position to interview at least 1 minority 
        candidate for that position;
Whereas the Rooney Rule has been successful in increasing minority 
        representation in higher leadership positions in professional football, 
        as shown by the fact that, in the 80 years between the hiring of Fritz 
        Pollard as coach of the Akron Pros and the implementation of the Rooney 
        Rule in 2003, only 7 minority head coaches were hired but, since 2003, 
        15 minority head coaches have been hired;
Whereas the Rooney Rule has demonstrated that once highly qualified and highly 
        skilled diversity candidates are given exposure during the hiring 
        process, the abilities of those diversity candidates can be better 
        utilized;
Whereas the RLJ Rule, formulated by Robert L. Johnson, founder of Black 
        Entertainment Television (commonly known as ``BET'') and The RLJ 
        Companies, and based on the Rooney Rule from the NFL, similarly 
        encourages companies to voluntarily establish a best practices policy to 
        identify minority candidates and minority vendors by implementing a plan 
        to interview--

    (1) not fewer than 2 qualified minority candidates for each managerial 
opening at the director level and above; and

    (2) not fewer than 2 qualified minority-owned businesses before 
approving a vendor contract;

Whereas, according to Crist-Kolder Associates, as cited in the Wall Street 
        Journal, at the top 668 companies in the United States, less than 10 
        percent of Chief Financial Officers are African-American, Hispanic, or 
        of Asian descent;
Whereas underrepresented groups contain members with the necessary abilities, 
        experience, and qualifications for any position available;
Whereas business practices such as the Rooney Rule or the RLJ Rule are neither 
        employment quotas nor Federal law but rather voluntary initiatives 
        instituted by willing entities to provide the human resources necessary 
        to ensure success;
Whereas experience has shown that people of all genders, colors, and physical 
        abilities can achieve excellence;
Whereas the increased involvement of underrepresented workers would improve the 
        economy of the United States and the experience of the people of the 
        United States; and
Whereas ensuring the increased exposure, and resulting increased advancement, of 
        diverse and qualified candidates would result in gains by all people of 
        the United States through stronger economic opportunities: Now, 
        therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives encourages each 
corporate, academic, and social entity, regardless of size or field of 
operation, to--
            (1) develop an internal rule modeled after a successful 
        business practice, such as the Rooney Rule or RLJ Rule, and, in 
        accordance with title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 
        U.S.C. 2000e et seq.), adapt that rule to specifications that 
        will best fit the procedures of the individual entity; and
            (2) institute the individualized rule described in 
        paragraph (1) to ensure that the entity will always consider 
        candidates from underrepresented populations before making a 
        final decision with respect to selecting a business vendor or 
        filling a leadership position.
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